11-23-2024 - Racing the Dark

Location: Oak Knoll Middle School

Weather: 52 degrees, NW 5 mph winds, sun setting

I managed to squeeze in a couple of tracks at dusk.

Saber

Time In: 4:50 pm, Time Run: 5:15, Age: 25 minutes, Length: about 285 yds

Saber is a smart girl. Her start was good. She easily made the turn on to the sidewalk. She made the second turn on the concrete without hesitation or checking other directions. She overshot the next turn. She has shown her confidence at this age track so I let her work out the problems. We went about 10-15 feet past the left headed into the bus loop. Her head came up and she started circling around so we backed up. She found and took the correct turn. I saw a women with 2 golden retrievers walk directly on the track so I was pleasantly surprised to see Saber's hot dogs still there. Saber was also happy with this. She overshot the last turn a little more going all the way to the other side of the bus loop. Again I let her work it out and she did. She was slightly right of the final article. As she was passing it there was a head snap and she turned around like there was food and downed. Her article indications were really good today. I was also happy she didn't get pulled into the sewer grate just past the end of the track. The dog has a strange fascination with sticking her face in sewers, grates, and culvert pipes. But also the land slopes down to it for drainage, so I image it pulls the scent that way as well.

This was a quick short track, but I liked Saber's problem solving and article indications.

Syd

Time In: 4:45 pm, Time Run: 4:55, Age: 10 Minutes

Syd got two straight tracks about 50 yards each. Food every 7 steps.

He starts very exuberantly. It takes a minute for him to focus instead of being in a frenzy. After a few lunges, he settled into actual tracking and did pretty well. The second track was straighter and better than the first. Article indications are good.